Chinese Language Teaching and Literature

Author: Wang Furén / Country: Mainland China
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-06-01
Features: Compared to the education systems of Western countries, ancient Chinese education was highly advanced. It was established by our great educator Confucius, and until the Opium War, we largely adhered to the educational principles and approaches he had set forth. We did not feel dissatisfaction with this educational system or develop an irrepressible desire for fundamental reforms. In fact, Chinese education at that time was essentially the education of the Chinese language. This form of education integrated the cultivation of personal morality, social intelligence, and national political education into one, forming a harmonious relationship with the specific social structure of ancient China. It also nurtured numerous talents who contributed to the continuous development of Chinese culture. The main achievements of ancient Chinese culture were largely created by these talents.
The significant transformation in the nature of Chinese education occurred after the Opium War. At that time, we faced imperialist aggression and the impact of Western culture, with both forces interacting with each other. Due to imperialist aggression, we urgently needed to learn Western science and technology, and we pursued this knowledge to resist imperialist aggression. The educational reforms that began at that time were led by the officials of the Self-Strengthening Movement, making their fundamental nature nationalist. The characteristics of this nationalist education were as follows: it served the strength of the nation, offered courses based on national needs, determined teaching content, methods, and objectives according to national requirements, and evaluated educational outcomes in line with national needs.
At that time, the majority of the population still lived according to China's traditional way of life, and their needs were met through traditional means. They did not require modern science and technology or the kind of intellectuals who possessed it. What the nation needed were these talents, who were selected and employed by the state. They represented the future and destiny of the nation, serving as the nation's "future" pillars. In fact, it was precisely these talents who guided our nation from the traditional society into the modern era, awakening us from a closed state and gradually enabling us to see the entire world.
However, in terms of the teaching content of Chinese education, the modern educational reforms in China were a form of exclusion and suppression of Chinese language education. As mentioned above, in ancient times, Chinese education was, in essence, the education of the Chinese language. At that time, almost all teaching content, with a meager amount of arithmetic knowledge being the sole exception, belonged to the field of Chinese language studies. And it was specifically within the discipline of Chinese language and literature.
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